We had a fabulous day playing tourist. We spent the entire day at the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. We visited the Painted Hills Unit, the Sheep Rock Unit and the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center. We took lots of great photos. I have not had time to write about the day or post the photos. For those of you that are on my e-mail update list, I will send a notice when this page is completed.
The first photo was taken at 3:07 am. I just happened to wake up, walk a few feet from the bedroom to the kitchen for a glass of water, and...

so much to see and do at John Day - and we didn't even have time to go to the third unit of the park
these photos are
from Picture Gorge Scenic highway area
from the Cant Historic Sheep and Cattle Ranch
from the Sheep Ranch Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds
from the Thomas Condon Paleontological Center

Oregon is such a beautiful state. There are very distinct geologic and climate zones to enjoy. The Southern Oregon coast is spectacular. The mid-state valley from north to south has wonderful farms. The east side of the Cascades is supposedly desert, but we have found it is also farm land – and that mostly cattle and hay fields with some wheat farms. But the desert also has wonderful alpine like mountains and numerous lava fields.
We stayed in a tiny town called Dayville, just over 100 miles east of Bend. From Dayville we visited the John...

July 24, 2012
Left Janet to work and started into Oregon. Part of our drive today follows a branch of the Oregon Trail for a short way. Those were tough folks to travel this country by foot.
West of Ontario, Oregon there are several kinds of crops in the fields. Corn and wheat, of course, and now apples, onions (many of which have fallen off the truck!), alfalfa, soybeans and what looks like kale or turnips or something. Like almost everything we have seen since leaving home though, if it is green, it is being irrigated.
Over a few...

We're headed for Iowa! We have to be there June 5 so that the Winnebago folks can do some repairs on Rocinante. We left Wilsonville and drove to Vancouver, WA so some nice folks up there can get ready to do a little remodeling of the motorhome when we return in the fall. We're planning to keep Rocinante (Rosie for short) for a long time, and some changes will make her an even more comfortable home.
Our stop the first night was at Ainsworth State Park in the Columbia River Gorge. We were able to sit out in the late afternoon and chat with...